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Eliza has a possible UTI

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Claire W

Claire W

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My Eliza has been a bit poorly lately. Last week she had a tummy bug and this week, it looks like she has a urine infection :0 I noticed she had reddish / orange coloured urine so I kept an eye on her. I became quite stressed out by it all yesterday as this is how Connie's problems started. I took her and a urine sample down to the vets and there is a trace of blood in her urine but luckily, no crystals or protein (unlike with Connie). It is the same vet who operated on Connie so she understands how stressed out I am as I don't think I could bear going through what I went through with Connie with again :0 The vet has weighed Eliza and said that she has put on weight since her tummy bug and is perfectly healthy. I just hope that the Septrin clears things up. On the plus side, Eliza's appetite has rocketed. Unfortunately, she hates the syringe and we have had to resort in wrapping her in a towel despite of the wheeks, squeeks and tantrums.
Please keep your fingers crossed that it is an infection that will clear up and she doesn't go down the same road as Connie :0
 
It does sound more like a UTI than a stone. Heres hoping Eliza is back to normal soon. Isnt it funny how some piggies take to syringe feeding so well whilst others hate it. My Mimsi gets cranberry syringe fed into him every day and is such a good boy. I sometimes have trouble getting the syringe out of his mouth! SEnding healing wheeks to Eliza from Mimsi, Montgomery, Matilda & Lady Penelope...(and me!)
 
She sounds like she is in good hands so I hope it is just a little infection that clears up without any trouble.

I wish my guinea pig Buttercup liked syringe feeding, she hates it. However before she had her op she would eat Science Recovery off the spoon no problem so there was no need to syringe feed her when she was ill.

Joy xx
 
Aww Claire try not to worry because Eliza will feel it.
All our finger's crossed for Eliza x>>

Love & Hugs

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
 
It sounds more like the UTI that is making the rounds here - no stones or crystals in any of the pigs. Eliza had just had a big bug, so her defense system is down. Make sure she gets plenty of vitamin C!

PS: Things should get better once Eliza realises that septrin tastes a LOT better - it took Llewelyn a couple of days to cme round after the baytril!
 
Sorry to hear that Eliza is still not well Claire, hope the septrin works and clear things up. May be worth giving her some probiotics as well to keep her good bacteria topped up. Good luck.
 
Crumbs your house sounds a bit like ours Claire, if it's not one piggy it's another! I hope Eliza feels better soon, Septrin usually does the job and is much gentler on the tummy than Baytril.
 
Whee are all sending our loves and healing wheeeeeks for little Eliza xx>>>xx>>>xx>>>xx>>>xx>>>
aww when you give her the meds a little treatie seems to help :)
 
Thank you for your replies :) Poor Eliza is a sticky mess due to all of her wiggling and spitting out :( She has has lots of cucumber and melon though to keep her sweet :) I have been watching her like a hawk and she is definitely not in any discomfort when she wee's. She has also had a normal coloured wee this evening so please keep those fingers crossed xx
 
Hope she's on the mend very quickly Claire. I understand how stressed you are, but take much comfort in the fact that she is doing otherwise well!
 
Eliza is going to have a bath tomorrow as her front is so sticky and she looks a right scruff! She is much better today :) If her urine still looks bloody tomorrow, the vet wants me to take in another sample. I haven't noticed any redness in it today x
 
Fingers crossed for Eliza!

Please be aware that most often, you CANNOT see small amounts of blood in the urine; it's better testing it to be really sure! Especially with Eliza's funny urine; most of the colouring is oxydisation.
 
Update

Eliza has had some clear pee's and her Septrin ran out last night. I phoned the vet to tell her the pee didn't look bloody anymore so she asked for a sample just to double check. She rang me back with the results and said that when she span the urine down, there was a couple of crystals but no blood. Not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing. The vet has told me not to worry as I am concerned that Eliza is going to go the same way as Connie :( The vet has said that if she has persistent problems like Connie, they will try and flush her bladder out and if need be, refer her to a specialist but this will be a last resort and hopefully won't happen. She has suggested that I syringe her some water to flush her bladder out. Please keep your fingers crossed that this is the end of something and not the beginning :( xx
 
So good to hear - hopefully that was the last of it, and Eliza can now concentrate on being a shining brides piggie... :)):)):))
 
Try not to worry yourself too much Claire, you are doing everything right for her! Ensuring she's drinking plenty of water is a good thing to focus on - lots of fluids will flush the bladder out frequently so should (theoretically) prevent things from building up in her bladder.

Forgive me for asking so many nosy questions but just to be thorough:
Have you looked at the info about the Calcium: Phosphorus ratios?
What dry food are they on at the moment?
Do you live in a hard water area?

If you live in a hard water area, it's well worth filtering the water. Made a big difference with my pigs.
 
Awwwwwwwww try not to worry too much :) When Bright Eyes had her urine checked it had a small amount of crystals and my vet told me that they expect to see a small amount in piggies :{ This was after her urine infection was treated. The only thing is though, I don't know whether or not that that is a correct statement :( I don't know whether anyone else knows what is "normal" to be present in a piggies urine sample. So I'm not much help really, just trying to make you feel better xxxxxxxxxx
 
Stupid Newbie question here: How do you get a urine sample from a guinea pig? Please forgive my 'newness':(|)
 
Best way is to pop the pig in a plastic box and wait for the pig to pee! Once they do, suck it up into a syringe (preferably a sterile syringe). Not had to do it myself but it sounds like it could be interesting. :))
 
CCC4 said:
Try not to worry yourself too much Claire, you are doing everything right for her! Ensuring she's drinking plenty of water is a good thing to focus on - lots of fluids will flush the bladder out frequently so should (theoretically) prevent things from building up in her bladder.

Forgive me for asking so many nosy questions but just to be thorough:
Have you looked at the info about the Calcium: Phosphorus ratios?
What dry food are they on at the moment?
Do you live in a hard water area?

If you live in a hard water area, it's well worth filtering the water. Made a big difference with my pigs.
Click to expand...

You' re not being nosy at all Laura, just very helpful :) I have had a quick look in the past but will be having a better look in a minute.
They are eating a mixture of Wagg guinea pig crunch and Pets at home nuggets.
I think I live in a soft water area but may try filtering the water just in case x
 
Abby'sMom said:
Stupid Newbie question here: How do you get a urine sample from a guinea pig? Please forgive my 'newness':(|)
Click to expand...

This is not a stupid question at all. I have had to collect many urine samples and did as what Laura (CCC4) has mentioned. Sometimes, you have to wait ages for piggy to pee so feeding foods like cucumber and melon helps them go to the toilet :)
 
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